Over the last 18 months a rather large growth rapidly appeared on the lower right side of my Hawthorn Raft it was growing so large that the lower branch was being hidden and its movement lost look closely and you can see how fast it grew… cracking and swelling in all directions. It was changing the character and shifting the visual weight of the tree, it had to be stopped in its tracks and the growth suppressed.
Completely removing the bulge would leave a large scar and ‘dead’ area so careful consideration as to the final ‘image’ was critical. A Scar is inevitable as the bulge was so large, so I hollowed it out retaining the front but removing the lower part to expose the movement in the lower branch.
Using a fine ‘pull’ saw I made a horizontal cut towards the area where the growth started. Then using chisels cut away the bulk, refining using a Dremel and cutter.
The work was done in the fall so that no callusing will take place, in fact I would like a small amount of natural dieback, I will not be putting wound sealant on either to create a more ‘natural’ appearance.
Bonsai & Yamadori from Tony Tickle 